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Atheist Organization Files Complaint against Christian School for Disciplining LGBT Students

Atheist Organization Files Complaint against Christian School for Disciplining LGBT Students

The atheist organization Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) has filed a complaint against a Christian school for the school’s LGBT policy.

According to The Christian Post, St. John’s Lutheran School of Baraboo, Wisconsin, says it maintains the right as a private Christian school to “discipline and dismiss student” for their adherence to a homosexual lifestyle.

The FFRF, also a Wisconsin-based organization, alleges that the school does not have the right to discriminate against LGBT students. The FFRF filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction earlier this month.

“St. John’s Lutheran School has implemented policies that discriminate against students on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity,” stated Patrick Elliot of the FFRF. “As these students are unable to attend the school, they are unable to participate in free and reduced price lunch programs.”

In comments emailed to The Christian Post, the school maintains that “the complaint is without merit.” They also said the school is “confident that the government will recognize, as it always has, the church’s constitutional right to teach and practice our beliefs without interference from the government.”

“The federal funds we receive are designed to help children and families not fund and operate our school,” the St. John’s continued. “We will gladly cooperate with any investigation, and we want to continue to provide these government programs to our families.”

The Christian Post notes that St. John’s Lutheran School is affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), which maintains that marriage is between one man and one woman.

The school says that, in disciplining or expelling LGBT students, it is not acting in a spirit of anger, but is instead adhering to biblical instruction that homosexuality is a sin.

“We must warn the impenitent that homosexuality, like all sins, excludes people from eternal life (1 Corinthians 6:9-10),” says a statement from the WELS.

“We are happy to assure the repentant who are struggling against this sin that they have complete forgiveness through the blood of Christ. When Christ died for all of the sins of the whole world, he gained forgiveness for homosexual deeds, for homosexual desires, and for the inborn sinful nature that produces these sins (1 Corinthians 6:11),” continued the statement.